The Great Dinner Adventure -- Sammy

[November Adams]

((Continued from here ))

It was something about the spastically hyperactive teenager that sat in the shotgun of the age-old van that just made Ember smile. He was silly, and weird, and even a bit eccentric. But he was her best friend after all. Sometimes more. Which made the teenage girl glad he didn't push the relationship thing - she was quite so interested in a long-term sort of thing. Especially at Hammel. But he had never pressed the matter, and though he seemed a bit confused, and maybe hesitant the first time she offered a relationship such as theirs, they soon fell into a pattern of things. Both were content being grand friends, with a few benefits thrown in here and there, without the pain of dating.

She laughed at the boy, giving him an incredulous look as he spoke. Her hands flexed on the steering wheel, and it was a relief that she could drive the van again after what had happened only two years ago. The VW was repaired, which the teen was thankful for. Though the memories were still quite fresh, the van was a love of hers.

"So, my dear, insane friend. Where would you like to eat?" She gestured with the hand not currently steering the van toward the array of buildings in the downtown area. It was a cool place to hang out, with little cafes and thrift stores and such. It had a lot of character, and the people were simply amazing. "Fries you said?" November referred back to their brief decision back in the field, as the picnic-goers were sufficiently freaked out. "Well there's Tyler's grill, they have fish & chips..." She pointed out, thoughtfully. Hm, she could go for some fish & chips right now.

[Samuel Rixon]

Sam was spazzy. And silly. And weird. It was just his nature. When you grew up in a big family, you had to be different. He had brothers who were good at sports, and sisters who were good in school. And him? He was just... Sammy. A bit of a spaz, yes, but at least he had fun in life. A lot of fun. Too much fun, in his teachers’ opinions, but he didn’t care. It was because he liked having fun that he wasn’t actively seeking a relationship. They were too much work, for one thing. He was much happier with what he and Ember had now. Best friends, siblings, and the occasional romp in the sheets. Though he was perfectly capable of spending the night with her, just to keep her warm. Spazzy though he was, he was nothing if not a gentleman.

“Insane?” He pretended to be miffed about that, but it didn’t last long. He was proud of his less than sane reputation. Her question made him look out the window, eyeing up the various places they could go. He liked downtown in Pilot Ridge. The town was small, but close to the school, and easy to get to. And they had great places to eat. “Yeah, fries. If I don’t get ‘em, I’ll die. Or something.” Because teenage boys tend to keel over when they fail to ingest unhealthy amounts of deep fried food. At the mention of Tyler’s Grill, Sam perked up, but he groaned fairly quickly thereafter. “Dude, no. For the last time, fish is nasty.” But then again, the grill had other things. Like burgers. “I like Tyler’s, though. Pull in.” He pointed to the parking lot. “But I’m not eatin’ fish.” Fish was gross. Fish did not compute in his mind as food. Or pets.

[November Adams]

November laughed, tossing her head back, cackling into the ceiling of the van. She was careful not to jerk the wheel as she giggled at her friend's words, "Oh there is nothing wrong with fish, you baby. Sure the live things are creepy as all get out, but when they're dead and beer-battered filleted, mmm. Tasty." The time turning gave him and expectant look, "I'm making you try fish & chips tonight. And I bet you that you'll love it." Her voice was matter-of-factly as she twisted the wide set steering wheel, twirling the van easily into a park spot only a few blocks from Tyler's.

People mingled around the stores in the evening; students from the local, normal kid high school loitered around the stores and food joints. Many of them reeked of cigarettes, which just made Ember raise her eyebrows. It was a small town - all you could do here was get into mischief. Slamming the door to the driver's seat closed, she made sure all was locked up. Her van was her baby, and though it held some bad memories, she loved it dearly. Many people who didn't know her very well remembered her in her first year as the hippie van girl. Not a bad way to be remembered honestly. Jutting her head down the street, motioning to Sammy to follow her, she scuffed her worn converses against the brick sidewalk. It was a leisurely, Wednesday afternoon. Hump day - still two more days of classes, then they could sleep in on the weekend.

"Got any plans for this weekend, my friend?" November eyed the pyro with the hint of a smirk.

[Samuel Rixon]

“Baby?” Sam arched an eyebrow at Ember’s giggles. “Aw Ember. Fish. Is. Nasty. Dead or alive.” Her expectant look made him wary. He didn’t like it when she got that look. It usually meant she was about to persuade him into homework time. Or something equally boring. Like getting out of bed to attend class on time. Sometimes, he couldn’t say no to that look. But... when it came to her threatening him with fish... he winced and stared out the window. “Fuck no, Ember. I’ll die. ... Or puke.” He was making mental notes to himself. Do not trust anything Ember tried to feed him. Now he’d made a big deal about it (not that he hadn’t before), she’d probably invent ways to get him to try it. “You can keep your nasty fish.”

Sometimes, Pilot Ridge reminded Sam of his hometown. It wasn’t quite as small, but it had the same vibe. And in a small town, preceded by as many siblings as he had, he’d been known when he’d hit school. They’d expected him to be an athlete, like his older brother, or good at academics, like his older sisters. But... he’d just been one of the troublemakers. The shout out random answers, fall asleep in class, part time stoner kind. Needless to say, his teachers hadn’t been impressed with him. Not that that had changed much at Hammel. He was still generally disliked for his lazy attitude and habits. By teachers, anyway. He had a nice circle of friends that were just as laid back as he was. He liked it that way. He followed after Ember, shoving his gloved hands into the pocket of his hoodie. He had to behave in town. No random fireballs in Tyler’s, thanks.

Plans? For the weekend? Sammy doesn’t tend to plan that far ahead. He shrugged. “I dunno. Blow off homework until Sunday night.” Per usual. “Prob’ly hang with the guys. And you. If you’re not too busy nerdin’ it up with school.” Yes, that’s the extent of his plans, right there. “What ‘bout you, girlfriend?” He was hoping it didn’t involve him, study notes, and library time. His weekends were better spent sleeping in and wasting time.

[November Adams]

November shot her friend a look; raised eyebrows, teetering smirk, jutted chin. Oh she was going to win. "Mhm, sure Sammy. Sure," She dragged out the vowel, making the words sound more like, 'suuuuuure' in a suggestive tone. Humouring him. "Why do you hate fish so much? What did they ever do to you, huh?"

Glancing back at her van momentarily, she turned her attention back to the pyro, giving him a smile. She shoved her hands in her pockets, slouching casually as she walked, eyes trailing over the familiar stores around them. Some of them were really cool places with all sorts of bizarre vintage clothing - where she got most of her old t-shirts. Ember wasn't really one for style, but she adored vintage t-shirts more than any other sort of clothing. Skirts, dresses, frilly things never quite suited her baby face and short stature. So when she discovered the comfortable feel of old cotton appearal, she soon made it her main object of fashion. And apparently Sam's as well, considering he stole most of her clothing. Except her pants. He was a bit taller than her, she doubt they would fit.

She chuckled, "Nerding it out? Maybe a bit, we do have that whole project thing due in History. Lucky you're not in AP, our paper has to be twice as long as yours." She glowered momentarily - 2,000 words wasn't fun to write when you really don't care about the subject. "But besides that I was thinking about seeing a movie or something. Tired of being in the dorm all weekend, ya know?" November smiled, pushing the door to Tyler's open and was immediately greeted by the hostess. She showed them to a table, smiling a bit too widely as she did. It kinda creeped her out.

[Samuel Rixon]

Arguements like this were commonplace between the two friends. One would latch onto a point, and the other would poke and poke. Sam met her expression with a defiant, but still playful look. He wasn’t going to let her win this. No way. “Fish are creepy, Emby. They breathe in water and they stink and they taste godawful nasty.” Especially fish sticks. Mystery fish. Eww.

Pilot Ridge was a familiar place to Sam. He’d spent many a weekend trolling the stores. The good thing about small towns – most of the stores were one of a kind, and you could find some really cool stuff. He had a fondness for the vintage stuff. It was part of the reason he liked to run off with Ember’s stuff. They had similar tastes. And half the time it was just easier to go shopping with her, buy a bunch of stuff, pay half each, and agree to share. Either that, or they’d just steal each other’s things. For the record, Sam might have tried to put on Ember’s pants in a manic morning dash. He’d whined and complained that he’d gotten fat, only to realize that they weren’t his. He’s slow in the morning. Forgive him.

As Ember mentioned History, Sam groaned. Loudly. He didn’t want to think about that. “You had to remind me, didn’t ya?” He hated History. He didn’t care when Hitler ruled the world, or when the war on terrorism began. But, as usual, his disinterest translated though as he shrugged. “Whatever. I’ll do it Sunday night.” In other words, come Sunday night, he’d be crawling on his knees, begging for Ember to help him. The moment she was off school talk, Sam latched onto it. He grinned and hugged himself against her arm. “Aww babe, you got a hot date or something? I thought I was the only man in your life.” He was joking, of course, as he followed Ember into Tyler’s. He flopped into the booth and snatched a menu. He needed food. Now.

[November Adams]

The brunette quirked an eyebrow at Sammy's overly dramatic whine - but she really couldn't help but grin. Being the "model" student she was, she had already written about a quarter of the paper. But of course her companion was going to procrastinate until Sunday evening which then he would proceed to bother her until she helped him with his paper. It was a process she was used to. "Mhm, do you even know what the paper is on?" She gave him an expectant look. The answer was how the Cold War affected Easter Europe, but she doubted her pyro would know that. He slept in History class.

Glancing up to the waitress, she started a little as the still unnaturally large grin the woman was sporting. Creepy. Asking their orders, her eyes shifting between the friends. Placing an order for lemonade and fish & chips, she turned her attention back to Sam, leaning her elbows against the table. Snorting in laughter, she humoured him, "Oh yes, my love! You are the only man for me! Please, never leave me, I would be nothing without you!" She said dramatically, but waved her hand idly as she spoke. Ending with a slanted smirk. "Yeah, 'cause I care for relationships oh so much, like the good little teenage girl I'm supposed to be." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. Keeping up with a boyfriend (or girlfriend) hadn't ever really interested the girl very much. It was too much work, and far too intimate for her tastes. She knew her friend was the same way.

"We're rather stand-up characters, aren't we?" November laughed, referring to both of their lack of enthusiasm for significant others.

[Samuel Rixon]

Sam was far from a model student, and the idea of working on homework over the weekend didn’t sound like a good time. His idea of a well thought out paper was knocking frantically on Ember’s dorm door at nine o’clock Sunday night. He would be the first to admit he was a pain in the ass. He just couldn’t be bothered to change. Ember’s question perplexed him. Topic? He cocked his head, thinking. “... Nazis?” It tended to be his default answer in History class. When in doubt, Nazis did it. It didn’t work as often as he’d like. History was boring, and more or less his naptime period.

Okay, note to self. Smiling in a scary way wasn’t going to get you a better tip. Sam ordered a burger and fries, and a root beer before looking back at Ember. He had a tendency to say stupid things, particularly around her. It was why he had no burning desire to go out and date. With anyone other than Ember, he’d have to watch his mouth, and stop being so... well... lazy. And he wasn’t too sure he liked that idea. Besides, he liked the relationship he had with Ember. Her laugh made him grin like the Cheshire cat. “Damn right, girlfriend. You better remember that!” He reached across the table to bat at her waving hands. “You’re not good. ‘Cept for school. Nerdling.” It sounded mean, but the tone he used, and the little crooked smile proved otherwise.

“Eh, if I had a girlfriend, I couldn’t hang with you ‘coz she’d prob’ly get jealous, or somethin’. And she’d prob’ly hate Horus and Vin because they’re idiots. It’s too much work, anyway. You gotta buy ‘em presents and shit.” None of that appealed to him. He liked his little group of friends. Strange as the boys could be. At least Ember was normal.